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(The following photo galleries are preset to run on a 3 second TIMER. If you want to move AT OUR OWN SPEED, simply click on the icon
between the left and right arrows to gain independent control. Also, watch for VERICAL SCROLLING on some pictures.)
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A Day in the Life of Diouma Sarr
You all asked us to find out what life is like for kids in Senegal. Luckily, our friend Bathie Pouye was able to arrange for us to spend a day with his niece, Diouma Sarr, who is eleven years old. She lives in Guinaw Rail which is a small suburb of Dakar, Senegal. We visited Diouma and her family at their home and were warmly welcomed. Bathie kindly translated as Diouma told us what she likes to do and shared her daily routine with us. We met some of her classmates when we walked to her school, and enjoyed meeting many other people in her neighborhood along the way. We shared a delicious meal, danced together, and had a delightful time seeing "A Day in Diouma's Life" on January 2, 2006. |
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French Signs
These are all signs in French that we saw in Senegal. Some are street signs, some blackboards from the school, some signs from Goree Island. Can you translate them?
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Horseback riding among the baobab trees
Link to the tale of the baobab |
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Visit to Goree Island, a beautiful and tragic island, once disgraced by its part in the slave trade. Click here to see Elizabeth's thoughtful report about the island. |
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Visit to the Village of Toubab Diallaw - meeting the people
Visit to the Village of Yenne Kelle - slideshow |
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Mardi Gras - Senegal Style
Jason was able to stay after the rest of us came home and he had many wonderful adventures. Here's his description of Mardi Gras in Senegal...
Every fourth Tuesday in February, Americans in New Orleans adorn themselves in bright costumes and masks to partake in merriment to celebrate Mardi Gras (which means "Fat Tuesday"). But this is not just an American holiday, and is perhaps better known as Carnivale throughout Latin America. It is an ancient holiday, and is now celebrated in much of the world, even in such unsuspected places as Senegal.
Nara, who is 6 years old and goes to L'ecole Marie de Yoff (that's the name of her school), is all ready for the occasion. Nara and her classmates are all dressed up like grown-up Senegalese people for Mardi Gras. They all celebrate by dancing along to the music, played by the drummers. Modou is the tama drummer, and leads the whole festivity with calls from his talking drum.
Celebrations are similar to the rest of life in Senegal in that there is much community and everyone is involved. Here, even the teachers are getting down on the dance floor. In fact, if you are in Senegal and your teacher starts dancing, you better watch out because you may get knocked over in the fray without any apologies, as many students found out. - Jason B
Here's some WEB SITES to find more information about Mardi Gras. Interestingly, they do not all agree with each other. Which do you think is the most reliable?
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